Credit Bureau Report Repair Tips

As the economy continues to go through major upheaval, banks are becoming increasingly reluctant to loan money - even to each other! The lending boom in which banks and lending institutions loaned money indiscriminately has led to a huge rise in home foreclosures, financial upheaval, and near disaster.

The $700 billion bailout has been turned down, and the everyday person is left to wonder, "What's next?" It's true - there may very well be a new bailout proposal that might pass in the future and it keeps happening - first the car industry, then the credit and banking industry. Expect more bailout proposals in the coming years.

And as with everything, this financial crisis will pass. But what is bound to linger is the fact that right now, and most likely in the future, it will be very difficult to get a loan for anything unless you have a good credit bureau report.

The days of securing a loan even with bad credit are over. If you want to finance a car, a home, a boat, a pool for the back yard or much of anything else, you must have good credit! So what do you do if your credit is less than stellar?

How are you ever going to be able to finance anything ever again? Your first step has got to be to repair your credit and make sure your credit bureau reports are correct. This might take a while to do, but if you get started now, you'll be in good shape for future purchases on credit. Here are the credit bureau report repair tips you will need to use:

1.) Get a copy of each of your credit bureau reports from the three major credit bureaus - Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Without your credit reports, you can't move forward with fixing your credit.

2.) Review each report thoroughly. If you see errors, make a note of them. If any reports are missing good credit information, make a note of those as well.

3.) At this point it will be handy to start a filing system, perhaps folders, for each creditor that you need to contact to either fix faulty information or to add favorable information to you credit reports. You can keep your notes, letters you write to creditors and reporting agencies and other important information organized this way.

4.) If there are errors or omissions in your credit bureau reports, write letters to both the reporting bureaus and the creditors involved and provide them with as much detailed information as possible. You will want to include copies of any supporting documents and you might even want to include a copy of the credit report with the item in question circled if you are requesting a correction in a reporting error.

5.) Once you've contacted your creditors and the bureaus in writing, get copies of your credit reports again (you should wait 30 to 60 days to give them time to correct their errors). If the corrections you've requested aren't showing, write them again. It may be necessary to repeat this step a few times - the squeaky wheel will get greased most quickly.

6.) If you don't get the changes you've requested, you can contact the Federal Trade Commission and make your case known to them. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, they can help you get results.

7.) Be sure that once you've fixed any errors or omissions, you keep monitoring your credit report on a regular basis and that you always manage your money wisely to keep your credit score top-notch.

Making certain that your credit report is accurately reporting your credit history is your first step to credit repair. By using these credit bureau report repair tips, you will be forming the foundation for rebuilding your credit.